Method of controlling access to activity data from a garment

ABSTRACT

An image of a garment is obtained ( 101 ). The garment comprises a marker located on an outside surface of the garment. The marker comprises a code string identifying the garment encoded into a visual symbol. The image is processed to generate a data string representing the visual symbol ( 102 ). The data string is used to access activity data associated with a sensor of the garment identified by the code string. The system comprises the garment and one or more electronic devices operable to perform the method.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from United Kingdom Patent Applicationnumber 1908181.9 filed on 7 Jun. 2019, the whole contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is directed towards a method, garment and system.The present invention is directed in particular towards accessingactivity data associated with a sensor incorporated into the garment.

Garments incorporating sensors are wearable electronics designed tointerface with a wearer of the garment, and to determine informationsuch as the wearer's heart rate, rate of respiration, activity level,and body positioning. Such properties can be measured with a sensorassembly that includes a sensor for signal transduction and/ormicroprocessors for analysis. Such garments are commonly referred to as‘smart clothing’. It would be desirable to provide a mechanism forcontrolling access to the data obtained from the sensors located on thegarment.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure there is provided a method, garmentand system as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of theinvention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and thedescription which follows.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod. The method comprises obtaining an image of a garment. Thegarment comprises a marker located on an outside surface of the garment.The marker comprises a code string identifying the garment encoded intoa visual symbol. The method comprises processing the image to generate adata string representing the visual symbol. The method comprises usingthe data string to access activity data associated with a sensor of thegarment identified by the code string.

Significantly, a garment comprising a marker is provided. The markercomprises a (unique) code string identifying the garment encoded into avisual symbol. When the visual symbol is imaged and the data string isobtained from the image, the data string is used to access activity dataassociated with the garment. In this way, access to the activity datafor the garment may be controlled by imaging the garment and processingthe resultant image. The method therefore enables the access of activitydata to be controlled using a simple electronic device such as aportable electronic device with an integrated camera. As a result, anelectronic device which may not be in direct communication with thegarment is able to access activity data in a controlled way by imagingthe garment and processing the resultant image. Beneficially, access tothe data obtained from the sensor(s) located on the wearer's garment iscontrolled through a simple and intuitive procedure of imaging thegarment. This approach enables different electronic devices to accessactivity data associated with the garment in a controlled way.

Providing the marker on the outside surface of the garment means thatthe activity data can be accessed from an external device at a distancewhile the garment is being worn. For example, a personal trainer may usetheir mobile phone to capture images of the wearer of the garment whilethe wearer is undertaking exercise. Because the marker is located on anoutside surface of the garment, a data string representation of themarker can be extracted from the captured images and used to obtainactivity data sensed by sensors of the garment.

Advantageously still, the method according to the present inventionenables a user such as a personal trainer to monitor several differentpeople wearing garments according to the present invention at the sametime. The simple act of the personal trainer moving the mobile phonecamera from a first user to a second user allows the personal trainer toswitch from obtaining (and potentially viewing) activity data associatedwith the first user to obtaining (and potentially viewing) activity dataassociated with the second user. The present invention thereforeprovides an easy and intuitive mechanism for enabling an external deviceto obtain access to activity data from a garment.

Advantageously still, the marker located on the outside surface of thegarment can be used as a marker for motion tracking. This allows for thedisplay of augmented reality objects representing activity data obtainedfrom the sensors over a live view image shown on the external device.

Using the data string to access activity data associated with a sensorof the garment identified by the code string may involve establishingdirect communication between the garment and the electronic deviceperforming the method. This may involve pairing the garment to theelectronic device performing the method using the code stringidentifying the garment. This may involve using the code stringidentifying the garment to listen out for activity data broadcast by thegarment. The pairing may be performed over a known short-rangecommunication protocol such as near-field communication, Bluetooth®,Bluetooth® Low Energy, Bluetooth® Mesh, or Bluetooth® 5, or ZigBee®. Thecode string may comprise a communication address for the garment or acomponent of a communication address for the garment. The code stringmay identify an electronics component of the garment such as a(removable) electronics module of the garment.

Using the data string to access the activity data may compriseestablishing, based on the data string, the identity of the garment, andmay further comprise accessing the activity data associated with thesensor of the identified garment. The establishing step may be performedby a user electronic device or the server.

Establishing, based on the data string, the identity of the garment maycomprises decoding the data string so as to obtain the code string andmay further comprises identifying the garment based on the code string.The data string may be a simple digitised representation of the visualsymbol or may be an encrypted version of the code string. The method mayrun a decoding algorithm to generate the code string from the datastring. The decoding and identifying steps may be performed by the userelectronic device or the server.

A database may be provided which may store one or a plurality of codestrings each associated with a different garment. The identity of thegarment may be established based on which of the code strings in thedatabase the generated data string (once decoded) matches. The databasemay be maintained on the electronic device performing the method or maybe a remote database that the electronic device has access to.

The method may further comprise obtaining a user credential from a user.The activity data may only be accessed if the user is authorised, basedon the obtained user credential, as having permission to access theactivity data. In this way, access to the activity data is controlledsuch that only a user with the requisite user credential is able toaccess the activity data. The activity data may only be accessed if theuser is authorised as having permission to access the activity data. Theuser credential may be in the form of a password or passcode. The usercredential may be in the form of biometric data. The biometric data maybe obtained by obtaining one or more of a fingerprint, palm print, irisscan, or facial image of the user. Other forms of biometric data arewithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The method may further comprise determining, based on the obtained usercredential, whether the user is authorised to access the activity data.The method may further comprise providing the activity data to the useronly if the user is authorised. The steps of determining and providingmay be performed by a user electronic device or a server. Differentusers may have different permissions levels and thus may have permissionto access different quantities or types of activity data. For example, acoach or personal trainer may have access to a first set of data fromthe garment whereas a medical professional may have access to a greaterrange and type of data from the garment. The method may comprisedetermining, from the user credential, the permission level of the user,and may comprise providing the activity data to the user based on thedetermined permission level

The method may be performed by a user electronic device. The method maybe performed by a user electronic device cooperating with a server.

Using the data string to access activity data associated with a sensorof the garment identified by the code string may comprise the userelectronic device transmitting the data string to a server so that theserver is able to establish the identity of the garment from the datastring. The user electronic device may receive, from the server, theactivity data.

The method may further comprise the user electronic device obtaining auser credential from a user. The activity data may only be accessed ifthe user is authorised, based on the obtained user credential, as havingpermission to access the activity data.

The method may further comprise the user electronic device transmittingthe user credential to a server so that the server is able to determineif the user is authorised as having permission to access the activitydata based on the obtained user credential. Using the data string toaccess the activity data may further comprise the user electronic devicereceiving, from the server, the activity data if the user is authorisedthe server as having permission to access the activity data.

The marker may be a fiducial marker. Beneficially, a fiducial marker isuseable as a point of reference for the garment and thus enables theposition of the garment and the motion of the garment over time to bemonitored simply by capturing images of the garment. In this way, asingle marker on the garment is not only used to identify the garmentbut also beneficially allows for the motion of the garment to bemonitored. The fiducial marker may be in the form of a 2D image. Thefiducial marker of the present invention is beneficial as it is simple,of low cost and does not negatively affect the comfort of the garmentfor the wearer. The fiducial marker may be an augmented reality (AR)marker with additional information in the form of the code stringencoded therein.

The marker may have a limited visual footprint on the garment. Thismeans that the marker may be sufficiently small that it is not easilyvisible by the naked eye but is still visible in the captured image. Inthis way, the marker does not affect or has a minimal effect on theappearance of the garment. In some examples, the marker is visible tothe naked eye.

The method may further comprise processing the image to determine thelocation of the fiducial marker.

The method may further comprise displaying a representation of theactivity data on a display. The display may be part of the userelectronic device or may be communicatively coupled to the userelectronic device.

The position of the representation of the activity data on the displaymay be determined according to the determined location of the fiducialmarker.

The position of the representation of the activity data may bedetermined by applying a predetermined displacement to the coordinatelocation of the fiducial marker.

The position of the representation of the activity data may correspondto the position of a feature of interest on a wearer of the garment.

The method may further comprise simultaneously displaying arepresentation of a wearer of the garment with the representation of theactivity data on the display. The representation of the activity datamay at least partially overlay the displayed representation of thewearer. Beneficially, the display of the activity data is enhanced bypositioning the activity data over the representation of the wearer sothat the user can understand the relationship between the activity dataand a relevant physiological component of the wearer.

Displaying the representation of the wearer of the garment may comprisedisplaying the obtained image. The obtained image may be a live viewimage. That is the camera may capture live view image data which maythen be displayed on the display of the user electronic device. The usermay therefore view a live view image of the wearer.

Displaying the representation of the wearer of the garment may comprisedisplaying an avatar representation of the wearer. The avatarrepresentation of the wearer may be a 3D representation of the wearer.The avatar may be animated to mimic the motion of the wearer. The avatarmay be animated based on motion data obtained from one or more motionsensors of the garment.

The representation of the activity data may represent a physiological oremotional state of the wearer. The physiological state may relate to amuscle or muscle group of the wearer, an organ of the wearer such as theheart or lung(s), or a condition such as the wearer's hydration level.The representation of the activity data my relate to neurological data.The emotional state of the wearer may relate to the stress level of thewearer for example.

The activity data may comprise activity data related to a muscle ormuscle group of a wearer of the garment. The position of therepresentation of the activity data may be determined to correspond toan estimated location of the muscle or muscle group of the wearer asdetermined from the location of the fiducial marker. The method maycomprise simultaneously displaying a representation of the wearer withthe representation of the activity data. The representation of theactivity data may be displayed such that it overlays the representationof the wearer at the position corresponding to the estimated location ofthe muscle or muscle group of the wearer.

The muscle or muscle groups may comprise one or more of the triceps,deltoids, pectorals, abdominals, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, andforearms.

The representation of the activity data may represent a physiologicalstate of the muscle or muscle group such as whether the muscle or musclegroup are in contraction or relaxation. The representation of theactivity data may convey information relating to the activity level ofthe muscle or muscle group such that the representation may have adarker or lighter colour depending on the intensity of the activityperformed by the user.

The activity data may comprise cardiac activity data. The position ofthe representation of the activity data may be determined to correspondto an estimated location of the heart of a wearer of the garment asdetermined from the location of the fiducial marker. The method maycomprise simultaneously displaying a representation of the wearer withthe representation of the activity data. The representation of theactivity data may be displayed such that it overlays the representationof the wearer at the position corresponding to the estimated location ofthe heart of the wearer.

The representation of the activity data may represent a physiologicalstate of the heart such as the heart rate.

The representation of the activity data may be in the form of anaugmented reality object.

The representation of the activity data may be in the form of a 2D or 3Dobject of a feature of interest of the wearer such as a muscle, musclegroup or organ. The object may be in the form of a 2D or 3D model of aheart. The model of the heart may be animated to beat at a ratecorresponding to the heart rate of the wearer as determined from theactivity data.

The obtained image may be captured by a camera that is communicativelycoupled to the user electronic device. The camera may capture a liveview image. That is, a real-time view otherwise known as a live videofeed. Obtaining the image may therefore comprise capturing the image bya camera that is communicatively coupled to the user electronic device.The camera may be part of the user electronic device. The userelectronic device may perform the step of processing the image togenerate the data string from the visual symbol. Alternatively, the userelectronic device may transmit the image to another electronic device toperform the step of processing.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod performed by a user electronic device. The method comprisesobtaining an image of a garment. The garment comprises a marker locatedon an outside surface of the garment. The marker comprises a code stringidentifying the garment encoded into a visual symbol. The methodcomprises processing the image to generate a data string representingthe visual symbol. The method comprises using the data string to accessactivity data associated with a sensor of the garment identified by thecode string.

Using the data string to access activity data associated with a sensorof the garment identified by the code string may comprise the userelectronic device transmitting the data string to a server so that theserver is able to establish the identity of the garment from the datastring. The user electronic device may receive, from the server, theactivity data.

The method may further comprise the user electronic device obtaining auser credential from a user. The activity data may only be accessed ifthe user is authorised, based on the obtained user credential, as havingpermission to access the activity data.

The method may further comprise the user electronic device transmittingthe user credential to a server so that the server is able to determineif the user is authorised as having permission to access the activitydata based on the obtained user credential. Using the data string toaccess the activity data may further comprise the user electronic devicereceiving, from the server, the activity data if the user is authorisedthe server as having permission to access the activity data.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodperformed by a server. The method comprises receiving, from a userelectronic device, a data string representing a visual symbol located onan outside surface of a garment, wherein the visual symbol comprises acode string that is encoded into the visual symbol. The method comprisesestablishing, by the server, the identity of the garment using thereceived data string. The method comprises providing, to the userelectronic device, activity data associated with a sensor of theidentified garment.

Establishing, based on the data string, the identity of the garment maycomprises decoding the data string so as to obtain the code string andmay further comprises identifying the garment based on the code string.The data string may be a digitised representation of the visual symbolor may be an encrypted version of the code string. The method may run adecoding algorithm to generate the code string from the data string.

The method may further comprise receiving a user credential from a userelectronic device. The activity data may only be accessed if the user isauthorised, based on the obtained user credential, as having permissionto access the activity data. In this way, access to the activity data iscontrolled such that only a user with the requisite user credentials isable to access the activity data.

The method may further comprise determining, based on the obtained usercredential, whether the user is authorised to access the activity data.The method may further comprise providing the activity data to the useronly if the user is authorised.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided agarment. The garment comprises a sensor arranged to monitor the activityof the wearer of the garment. The garment comprises a communication unitarranged to receive activity data for the wearer from the sensor andtransmit the activity data to an external device. The garment comprisesa marker located on an outside surface of the garment. The markercomprises a code string identifying the garment encoded into a visualsymbol and arranged such that, when imaged by an image capturing device,the at least one marker is useable to access activity data associatedwith the sensor of the garment.

The garment may be suitable for the method of the first, second or thirdaspect of the invention.

The marker may be a 2D image. The marker may be a fiducial markeroptionally in the form of a 2D image. The marker may be an AugmentedReality (AR) marker with additional information in the form of the codestring encoded therein.

The marker may comprise a plurality of markers. The plurality of markersmay be located at different locations on the garment. The plurality ofmarkers may be arranged in a geometric pattern. The plurality of markersmay be arranged together on the garment to form a decorative item.

The plurality of markers may be located at different locations on thegarment.

The marker may be integrated into the garment.

The marker may be printed onto the garment. Any known garment printingtechnique may be used such as screen printing or inkjet printing. Themarker may be incorporated onto the garment using a direct to garmentprinting technique.

The marker may be incorporated into the stitching of the garment, and/ora seam of the garment, and/or a hem of the garment, and/or a neckline ofthe garment, and/or a collar of the garment, and/or a sleeve of thegarment, and/or a cuff of the garment, and/or a pocket of the garment,and/or a body of the garment, and/or a fastener of the garment. Thefastener may be a zipper, button, clasp, toggle, stud, snap fastener,popper, eyelet, buckle, tie or ribbon.

The sensor may comprise a plurality of sensors.

The sensor may be arranged to sense one or more signals external to thewearer. The sensor may be any or a combination of a temperature sensor,a camera, a location tracking module such as a GPS module, and achemical sensor.

The sensor may be a biosensor arranged to measure one or more biosignalsof a user wearing the wearable article. Here, biosignal” may refer toany signal in a living being that can be measured and monitored. Theterm “biosignal” is not limited to electrical signals and can refer toother forms of non-electrical biosignals. The biosensor may be used formeasuring one or a combination of bioelectrical, bioimpedance,biochemical, biomechanical, bioacoustics, biooptical or biothermalsignals of the wearer. The bioelectrical measurements includeelectrocardiograms (ECG), electrogastrograms (EGG),electroencephalograms (EEG), and electromyography (EMG). Thebioimpedance measurements include plethysmography (e.g., forrespiration), body composition (e.g., hydration, fat, etc.), andelectroimpedance tomography (EIT). The biomagnetic measurements includemagnetoneurograms (MNG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), magnetogastrogram(MGG), magnetocardiogram (MCG). The biochemical measurements includeglucose/lactose measurements which may be performed using chemicalanalysis of the wearer's sweat. The biomechanical measurements includeblood pressure. The bioacoustics measurements include phonocardiograms(PCG). The biooptical measurements include orthopantomogram (OPG). Thebiothermal measurements include skin temperature and core bodytemperature measurements. The biosensor may comprise a radar unit. Thegarment may sense a combination of external signals and biosignals ofthe wearer.

In some examples, the marker has a limited visual footprint on thegarment. This means that the marker is sufficiently small that it is noteasily visible by the naked eye but is still visible in the imagecaptured by the image capturing device. In this way, the marker does notaffect or has a minimal effect on the appearance of the garment. In someexamples, the marker is visible to the naked eye.

The marker may be incorporated into or form part of visual element onthe garment which may be a decorative item in the garment. Thedecorative item may be a logo, design, image, motif or pattern on thegarment. In this way, the marker may contribute to or enhance theappearance of the garment.

The garment may refer to an item of clothing or apparel. The garment maybe a top. The top may be a shirt, t-shirt, blouse, sweater, jacket/coat,or vest. The garment may be a dress, brassiere, shorts, pants, arm orleg sleeve, vest, jacket/coat, glove, armband, underwear, headband,hat/cap, collar, wristband, stocking, sock, or shoe, athletic clothing,personal protection equipment, swimwear, wetsuit or drysuit. The garmentmay be constructed from a woven or a non-woven material.

The garment may be constructed from natural fibres, synthetic fibres, ora natural fibre blended with one or more other materials which can benatural or synthetic. The yarn may be cotton. The cotton may be blendedwith polyester and/or viscose and/or polyamide according to theparticular application. Silk may also be used as the natural fibre.Cellulose, wool, hemp and jute are also natural fibres that may be usedin the garment. Polyester, polycotton, nylon and viscose are syntheticfibres that may be used in the garment. The garment may be atight-fitting garment. Beneficially, a tight-fitting garment helpsensure that any sensors of the garment are held in contact with or inthe proximity of a skin surface of the wearer. The garment may be acompression garment. The garment may be an athletic garment such as anelastomeric athletic garment.

The garment may be a shirt. The marker may be located on the collar,yoke, sleeve, gauntlet, cuff, body, pocket, plackett, or fastener of theshirt. The shirt may comprise a plurality of markers. The plurality ofmarkers may be located at a plurality of different positions on theshirt. The plurality of different positions on the shirt may compriseone or more of the collar, yoke, sleeve, gauntlet, cuff, body, pocket,plackett, or fastener of the shirt

The garment may be a T-shirt. The marker may be located on the neckline,sleeve, cuff, body or hem of the T-shirt. The T-shirt may comprise aplurality of markers. The plurality of markers may be located at aplurality of different positions on the T-shirt. The plurality ofdifferent positions on the shirt may comprise one or more of theneckline, sleeve, cuff, body or hem of the T-shirt.

The communication unit may be a mobile/cellular communicator operable tocommunicate the data wirelessly via one or more base stations. Thecommunication unit may provide wireless communication capabilities forthe garment and enables the garment to communicate via one or morewireless communication protocols such as used for communication over: awireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metroarea network (WMAN),a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network(WPAN), Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Bluetooth 5, Thread,Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, Ant, a near field communication (NFC), a GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GNSS), a cellular communication network, orany other electromagnetic RF communication protocol. The cellularcommunication network may be a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced(LTE-A), LTE Cat-M1, LTE Cat-M2, NB-IoT, fifth generation (5G), sixthgeneration (6G), and/or any other present or future developed cellularwireless network. A plurality of communication units may be provided forcommunicating over a combination of different communication protocols.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided asystem. The system comprises the garment of the fourth aspect of theinvention. The system comprises one or more electronic devices operableto: obtain an image of the garment; process the image to generate a datastring representing the visual symbol; and use the data string to accessactivity data associated with a sensor of the garment identified by thecode string.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program comprising instructions which, when the program isexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method ofthe first, second, or third aspect of the invention.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, whenexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method ofthe first, second, or third aspect of the invention.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided a userelectronic device operable to perform the method of the first or secondaspect of the invention.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided a serveroperable to perform the method of the third aspect of the invention.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof manufacturing a garment according to the fourth aspect of theinvention. The method comprises generating a code string using a randomnumber generator; encoding the code string into a visual symbol; andincorporating the visual symbol onto the garment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram for an example method according to aspectsof the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram for an example method according to aspectsof the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram for an example method according to aspectsof the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show example markers in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram for an example method according to aspectsof the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an example system according to aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows an example user interface according to aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 shows an example user interface according to aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 shows an example user interface according to aspects of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 10 shows an example user interface according to aspects of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of thedisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of thedisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

According to aspects of the present invention, a garment is providedhaving a marker located on an outside surface of the garment. The markercomprises a code string identifying the garment encoded into a visualsymbol. In more detail, a code is generated for the garment using arandom number generator. The code may in a code format with sufficientaddress space to enable a sufficient number of different codes to begenerated. For example, the code format may be in the form of a14-character hexadecimal number. Once the code is generated by therandom number generator, a processor running an algorithm converts thecode into a visual symbol which is printed or otherwise manufacturedonto the garment. Encoding the code into a visual symbol is beneficialbecause the original code cannot be parsed from the visual symbolwithout access to the encoding algorithm. Moreover, the visual symbol iseasily machine readable by providing image data of the visual symbolcaptured using a camera. As an added benefit the visual symbol is alsouseable as a fiducial marker for tracking the motion of the garment.

The garment further comprises a sensor or more typically a plurality ofsensors. The activity data obtained by the sensors is transmitted by acommunication unit of the garment to a server. The transmission may beperformed over a high throughput wireless communication protocol such as5G.

The garment may be worn by a first person referred to as the “wearer”. Asecond person referred to as the “user” is in possession of a userelectronic device such as a mobile phone. The second person may desireto see activity data for the wearer as recorded by the sensors of thegarment. For example, the user may be a personal trainer that may desireto view metrics such as the wearer's heartrate, respiration levels andhydration levels. The user may also be a healthcare professional such asa physiotherapist or doctor.

In some examples, the “user” and the “wearer” refer to the same person.For example, the user electronic device may be a television apparatuswith an integrated camera. The wearer of the garment may stand in frontof the television apparatus and may be captured by the camera of thetelevision apparatus. The television apparatus may then display theactivity data so that the wearer may view their activity information.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an example method according to thefirst aspect of the present invention that allows the user of to obtainaccess the activity data via their user electronic device.

In step 101 of the method, the user electronic device obtains an imageof the garment. In particular, the second user uses the camera of theiruser electronic device to capture real time live view images of thewearer as they perform activities while wearing the garment.

In step 102 of the method, the user electronic device processes theimage to generate a data string. The user electronic device performs animage processing operation to convert the visual symbol into the datastring. The user electronic device may generate the data string bysimply digitising the image of the visual symbol. The digitised versionof the visual symbol may then be transmitted to a server which decodesthe symbol. Alternatively, the user electronic device may translate thevisual symbol into an encrypted version of the code string. Theencrypted version of the code string may be transmitted by a server fordecoding. The user electronic device may decode the data string but itis generally beneficial to keep the decoding algorithm private.

In step 103 of the method, the data string is used by the userelectronic device to access activity data associated with the garment.For example, the data string may be used to access activity data for thegarment in real time. The activity data may relate to one or morebiosignals of the user such as the heart rate, respiration rate andhydration level of the user. In this way, the user is able to obtainbiosignal data for the wearer in real time so as to enable the user toobserve and assess the performance of the wearer. This is particularlyuseful when the user is a personal trainer or healthcare professional.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a more detailed overview of theexample method of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, steps 201 and 202 are the same assteps 101 and 102 in FIG. 1. Step 103 of

FIG. 1 is split into two separate steps performed by the user electronicdevice which are referred to as steps 203 and 204. In step 203, the userelectronic device transmits the data string to a server. The server thenidentifies the garment from the data string and transmits activity dataassociated with a sensor of the identified garment to the userelectronic device. In more detail, the server may decode the data stringand compare the decoded data string to the original code string (whichmay be stored securely on the server) to determine whether the decodeddata string matches the code string. The server may store code stringsfor a number of garments and therefore the decoded data string may becompared against a plurality of code strings stored in the database. Ifthe decoded data string matches a code string in the database, theserver may identify the garment associated with the code string andobtain activity data for the identified garment. The activity data maybe stored on the server or on another server that is communicativelycoupled to the server. In step 204, the user electronic device receivesthe activity data from the server.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a more detailed overview of theexample method of FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, steps 301 and 302 are the same assteps 101 and 102 of FIG. 1 and steps 201 and 202 of FIG. 2. Step 103 ofFIG. 1 is split into three separate steps performed by the userelectronic device which are referred to as steps 303, 304 and 305. Instep 303, the user electronic device obtains a user credential for theuser. The user credential may be in the form of a password or passcodeor biometric data. Any form of biometric data may be used such asfingerprint data, ECG data, or iris data. In step 304, the userelectronic device transmits the data string and the user credential tothe server. The server then identifies the garment from the data stringand authenticates the user based on the user credential. In more detail,the server may store the code string associated with the identifiedgarment and the user credential indicating whether the user isauthorised to access the activity data. This information may be storedin a database along with code strings for other garments and usercredentials for other users. In response to receiving the data stringand the user credential, the server decodes the data string and comparesthe decoded data string to the code string or strings in the database.

If the decoded data string matches a code string in the database, theserver identifies the garment associated with the code string. Theserver then determines based on the received user credential whether theuser is authenticated as having permission to access the activity data.Different users may have access to different parts of the activity datafor a garment. That is, different users may have different permissionlevels in relation to the activity data. For example, a personal trainermay have access to a limited amount of activity data for the garment.The personal trainer may have access to heart rate, respiration rate,and hydration level data. The personal trainer may not have access toother activity data which may relate to more personal information. Incontrast, a healthcare professional may have access to all of the datafor the garment. The access level may be indicated by the usercredential. In step 305 the user electronic device receives the activitydata from the server.

It will be appreciated that the step of obtaining user credentials isnot required in all embodiments of the present invention. For example,if only trusted user electronic devices are able to communicate with theserver then a separate step of authorising the user will not always berequired.

Referring to FIG. 4A, there is shown an example marker 401 in accordancewith the present invention. The marker 401 in this example is based onthe Vcode® provided by VST Enterprises™ and comprises a visual symbol inthe form of black marks upon white pathways. The black marks representthe characters in the code string. The visual symbol may additionallyencode redundant information for error detection, correction, anduniqueness over different rotations of the marker.

Referring to FIG. 4B, there is shown another example marker 403 inaccordance with the present invention. The marker 403 in this example isderived from the AR marker system known as ARTag. The marker 403comprises a visual symbol in the form of a 6×6 grid of black or whitecells which represent 36 binary ‘0’ or ‘1’ symbols. The 36-bit sequenceencodes the code string and may additionally encode redundantinformation for error detection, correction and uniqueness over thedifferent rotations of the marker.

In both examples, the code string/data string may be retrieved from themarker 401, 403 by processing an image containing the visual symbol. Itwill be appreciated that known image processing operations such ascontour extraction and edge detection will be used to read the symbolfrom the image.

It will be appreciated that the marker 401, 403 in accordance with thepresent invention is not limited to the examples of markers shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B. Instead, other forms of markers 401, 403 that encode acode string identifying the garment into a visual symbol may be used. Inmost preferred examples, the markers 401, 403 are additionally used asfiducial markers 401, 403. This means that the markers 401, 403 act as apoint of reference for the garment and thus enable the position of thegarment and the motion of the garment over time to be monitored simplyby capturing images of the garment. Generally, the marker 401, 403 ispreferred to be a bitonal marker as this means that there is no need toidentify different shades of grey within the marker 401, 403 during theimage processing operation to identify and decode the marker 401, 403.This beneficially helps reduce the sensitive to lighting conditions andcamera settings. Of course, in some examples the marker 401, 403 may notbe bitonal and may comprise different grey levels or indeed differentcolours.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a more detailed overview of anexample method according to aspects of the invention. The method isperformed by a garment 51, user electronic device 53, and server 55.

The garment 51 comprises at least one sensor arranged to monitor theactivity of the wearer of the garment 51. The garment 51 furthercomprises a communication unit arranged to receive activity data for thewearer from the at least one sensor and transmit the activity data tothe server 55. In step 501 the garment 51 transmits the activity data tothe server 55.

In step 502, the user electronic device 53 obtains an image of thegarment. In step 503, the user electronic device 53 processes the imageto generate a data string. In other examples, the user electronic device53 does not process the image and instead transmits the image to anotherelectronic device. The other electronic device may process the image togenerate the data string. The other electronic device may be the server55.

In step 504, the user electronic device 53 obtains a user credential forthe user. In step 505, the user electronic device 53 transmits the datastring and user credential to the server 55. If the user electronicdevice 53 does not process the image to obtain the data string then onlythe user credential will be transmitted in step 505.

In step 506, the server 55 establishes the identity of the garment 51based on the received data string. In step 507, the server 55authenticates the user based on the received user credential. If theuser credential indicates that the user is authenticated to accessactivity data for the identified garment then the server 55 transmitsthe relevant activity data to the user electronic device in step 508.The activity data transmitted to the user electronic device 51 may notbe the same as the activity data received by the server 55 from thegarment 51 in step 501. This is because the server 55 may performadditional processing operations on the activity data. In step 509, theuser electronic device 53 displays the activity data, or arepresentation of the activity data, to the user.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown an example garment 51, userelectronic device 53, and server 55 in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention. The garment 51, user electronic device 53, and server55 form an example system 600 in accordance with aspects of theinvention.

The garment 51 in the example of FIG. 6 is in the form of a T-shirt. Thegarment 51 comprises two sensors 601, 603 arranged to monitor theactivity of the wearer of the garment 51. In this example, one of thesensors 601 acts as a monitoring unit and the other sensor 603 acts as areference unit. The sensors 601, 603 are communicatively coupled to acommunication unit 605 arranged to communicate activity data to theserver 55. The garment 51 comprises a marker 607 located on the outsidesurface of the garment 51 and in particular on the main body of theT-shirt. The marker 607 comprises a code string identifying the garmentencoded into a visual symbol as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The marker 607is arranged such that, when imaged by an image capturing device such asthe camera of the user electronic device 53, the marker 607 is useableto access activity data associated with the garment 51.

The user electronic device 53 in the example of FIG. 6 is in the form ofa mobile phone with an integrated camera. The user electronic device 53comprises a communication unit, a storage, a controller, a display 609,a camera and a user input unit. The controller provides overall controlto the user electronic device. The communication unit transmits andreceives various pieces of information required for communication with aserver under the control of the controller. The communication unittransmits the data string to the server and receives activity data fromthe server. The user input unit receives inputs from the user such as auser credential. The camera captured the image of the garment. Thestorage stores information for the user terminal. The display 609 isarranged to show a live view image of the scene captured by the camera.The display 609 may be a presence-sensitive display and therefore maycomprise the user input unit. The presence-sensitive display may includea display component and a presence-sensitive input component. Thepresence sensitive display may be a touch-screen display arranged toprovide the user interface.

The user electronic device 53 may also include a biometric sensor. Thebiometric sensor may be used to identify a user or users of device basedon unique physiological features. The biometric sensor may be: afingerprint sensor used to capture an image of a users fingerprint; aniris scanner or a retina scanner configured to capture an image of ausers iris or retina; an ECG module used to measure the user's ECG; orthe camera of the user electronic arranged to capture the face of theuser. The biometric sensor may be an internal module of the userelectronic device. The biometric module may be an external (stand-alone)device which may be coupled to the user electronic device by a wired orwireless link.

User electronic devices in accordance with the present invention are notlimited to mobile phones and may take the form of any electronic devicewhich may be used by a user to perform the methods according to aspectsof the present invention. The user electronic device may be a mobileelectronic device such as a smartphone, tablet personal computer (PC),mobile phone, smart phone, video telephone, laptop PC, netbook computer,personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile medical device, camera orwearable device. The wearable device may include a head-mounted devicesuch as an Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality or Mixed Realityhead-mounted device. The user electronic device may be desktop PC,workstations, television apparatus or a projector, e.g. arranged toproject a display onto a surface.

The server 55 may be a single device or may comprise a plurality ofdistributed devices communicatively coupled to one another, e.g. as acloud-based server such as cloud server network. The server comprises acommunication unit, a storage, and a controller. The controller providesoverall control to the server. The communication unit transmits andreceives various pieces of information required for communication with auser electronic device and/or garment under the control of thecontroller. The storage stores information for the server such as codestrings identifying garments and user credential information.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown an example user interface 700displayed on the user electronic device 53.

The user interface includes a display of a representation of the wearerof the garment 701. In this example, the representation of the wearer ofthe garment 701 is in the form of a 3D avatar. The 3D avatar will moveas the wearer moves as a result of the motion tracking performed usingthe fiducial markers provided on the garment 51. A more refined motionestimate may be provided by incorporating additional active motionsensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes into the garment. In otherexamples, the displayed representation of the wearer of the garment 701is in the form of a live view image as captured by the camera of theuser electronic device 53. In this example, the additional active motionsensors are not required for the garment 51 but may still be provided.

The user interface 700 also includes representation of the activity data703 received from the server 55. The representation of the activity data703 in this example is the form of an object 703 that overlays theabdominal muscles of the wearer. The representation of the activity data703 changes colour depending on whether the activity data indicates thatthe abdominal muscles are in contraction or relaxation. In FIG. 7, theabdominal muscles are in contraction and as such the object 703 has adark colour. When the abdominal muscles are in relaxation the colour ofthe object 703 lightens. Of course, other visual representations of theactivity data relating to the abdominal muscles may be provided.

The object 703 is displayed at a position determined according to thelocation of the marker on the garment 51. In particular, the marker is afiducial marker that acts as a reference position for the garment 51 inrelation to the wearer of the garment 51. The position of the object tobe displayed is determined using the position of the marker (x1, y1) inthe image and a predetermined displacement (x2, y2) from the marker to afeature of interest on the wearer such as the abdominal muscles. Inparticular, the position of the object 703 to be displayed can bedetermined as (x1, y1)+(x2, y2).

The user interface 700 of FIG. 7 displays additional activity data forthe wearer and other data for the garment 51 at positions which are notdetermined based on the location of the marker on the garment 51. Theuser interface 700 includes an ECG trace 705 and heartrate data 707; thesignal strength 709 for the communication unit of the garment 51; thebattery level 711 for a battery of the garment 51; GPS coordinate data713; core body temperature and skin surface temperature 715; the oxygenlevel 717, blood pressure and blood glucose levels 719, sleep tracking,step tracking and hydration level 721, and fat level, calories burned,blood lactate level as well as an indication of the type of caloriesburned 723. The user interface 700 also displays warnings 725, 727indicating the wearer's VO2 and hydration levels are concerning. Ofcourse, the user interface 700 in FIG. 7 is just one example interfaceand other forms of bio data may be displayed to the user in a differentway.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown another example user interface 800displayed on the user electronic device 53. The user interface 800displays a representation of the wearer 801 which may be a 3D avatar ora live view image of the wearer. In addition, the user interface 800overlays the representation of the wearer 801 with two objects 803, 805.The two objects 803, 805 are displayed at positions that correspond tothe location of the pectoral muscle area of the wearer. The position ofthe objects 803, 805 are determined according to the location of themarker on the garment as described above in relation to FIG. 7. Theobjects 803, 805 are representations of the activity data of the wearerrelating to the pectoral muscle area. The objects 803, 805 change colourbased on the received activity data for example to indicate whether themuscles are in contraction or relaxation.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown another example user interface 900displayed on the user electronic device 53. The user interface 900displays a representation of the wearer 901 which may be a 3D avatar ora live view image of the wearer. In addition, the user interface 900overlays the representation of the wearer 901 with an object 903. Theobject 903 is displayed at a position that corresponds to the locationof the heart (the representation of the wearer 901 is displayed as amirror image in FIG. 9). The position of the object 903 is determinedaccording to the location of the marker on the garment as describedabove in relation to FIG. 7. The object 903 is a representation of thecardiac activity data of the wearer. The object 903 is in particular ananimated 3D model of a heart that beats at a rate corresponding to theheart rate of the wearer as determined from the activity data.

In addition, the user interface may display information relating to pastor predicted future movements undertaken by the wearer. The garment mayincorporate one or more motion sensors such as accelerometers orgyroscopes which may be used to derive position and velocity data forthe wearer. This information may be displayed such that the user canview how the wearer has moved over time. Moreover, based on past motioninformation a future motion of the user may be estimated and displayed.The motion information may be displayed as a series of points on thedisplay such as in the form of a point cloud.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown an example user interface accordingto aspects of the present invention. The user interface displays a liveview image 1000 that is captured by a camera communicatively coupled tothe electronic device. The live view image 1000 is a live video feed ofthe wearer wearing the garment 11. The garment 11 has a fiducial marker107 located on an outside surface of the garment. The live view image1000 is processed to determine the location of the fiducial marker 107.The display of the live view image 1000 is augmented with the display ofan augmented reality object 1001. The position of the augmented realityobject 1001 on the display is determined based on the determinedlocation of the fiducial marker 107. That is, the augmented realityobject 1001 is always displayed at a predetermined displacement from thefiducial marker 107. The effect of this is that the augmented realityobject 1001 always appears on the display to overlay the cardiac regionof the wearer of the garment 11. The augmented reality object 1001provides a representation of the cardiac activity data which is recordedby one or more sensors (not visible) of the garment. The augmentedreality object 1001 comprises a 3D model of the heart 1003 that isanimated to beat at a rate corresponding to the heart rate of the weareras recorded by the sensor(s) of the garment 11, The 3D model of theheart 1003 changes colour based on the heart rate of the wearer. The 3Dmodel of the heart 1003 is green when the heart rate is at a low value(e.g. less than 100 beats per minute), yellow when the heart rate is ata medium value (e.g. between 100 and 145 beats per minute) and red whenthe heart rate is at a high value (e.g. greater than 145 beats perminute). Of course, other colours may be used. The 3D model of the heartmay additionally or separately change size, shape or texture dependingon the heart rate. The augmented reality object 1001 comprises anumerical display of the heart rate 1005. The augmented reality object1001 comprises a display of ECG data 1007 for the wearer. The display ofthe heart rate 1005 and the ECG data 1007 may also change colour, size,shape or texture depending on the heart rate. Conveniently, the presentinvention conveys cardiac information to the observer in a way that iseasy and intuitive to understand as the augmented reality object 1001 isalways positioned to overlay the cardiac region of the wearer.

In an example use case, a garment according to the present disclosure isworn by a patient visiting a medical professional such as a doctor. Thedoctor uses an electronic device to scan the marker located on theoutside surface of the garment. As a result, the electronic device isable to obtain activity data associated with a sensor of the garmentidentified by the code string. The activity data may be real-time datasensed by the sensor or may be historic data stored in a memory of thegarment or on a separate data store. In this way, the medicalprofessional is provided with a simple and convenient method foraccessing physiological data for the patient to aid in the medicalprofessional providing medical care.

In an example use case, a garment according to the present disclosure isworn by a subject who has undergone a medical emergency and may beunresponsive. A medical professional such as a first aid responder ormedic is able to scan the marker located on the outside surface of thegarment so as to obtain activity data to aid in providing medical careto the subject. Beneficially, the marker located on the outside surfaceof the garment may be clearly visible to the medical professional so asto visually indicate that they are able to download data. In aparticular example, the medical professional may be able to downloadmotion data recorded by an inertial measurement unit of the garment soas to determine what g-forces were experienced by the subject. This isbeneficial after a road accident or a collision between players in asporting event for example.

In an example use case, a sports coach may desire to monitor severalplayers on a team. The coach is able to use an electronic device to scanthe marker located on the outside surface of the garment of the playerto obtain activity data for the player. This enables the coach toquickly and easily ascertain information about the player related totheir performance.

In summary, there is provided a method, garment and system. An image ofa garment is obtained. The garment comprises a marker located on anoutside surface of the garment. The marker comprises a code stringidentifying the garment encoded into a visual symbol. The image isprocessed to generate a data string representing the visual symbol. Thedata string is used to access activity data associated with a sensor ofthe garment identified by the code string. The system comprises thegarment and one or more electronic devices operable to perform themethod.

While the particular examples mentioned above refer to wearable articlesin the form of garments, it will be appreciated that the presentdisclosure is not limited to such examples and other forms of wearablearticle are within the scope of the present disclosure. The wearablearticle may be, for example, any form of electronic device which may beworn by a user such as a smart watch, necklace, bracelet, or glasses.The wearable article may be a textile article.

While the particular examples mentioned above refer to visual symbolslocated on an outside surface of a garment or other form of wearablearticle, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is notlimited to such examples. Other forms of visual symbol which arereadable from the outside of the garment but not necessarily provided onthe outside surface of the garment are within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

In some examples according to the present disclosure, electronicscomponents of the garment such as the communication unit and sensor areremovable from the garment. The electronics components may be removablycontained within a pocket of the garment.

At least some of the example embodiments described herein may beconstructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated special-purposehardware. Terms such as ‘component’, ‘module’ or ‘unit’ used herein mayinclude, but are not limited to, a hardware device, such as circuitry inthe form of discrete or integrated components, a Field Programmable GateArray (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), whichperforms certain tasks or provides the associated functionality. In someembodiments, the described elements may be configured to reside on atangible, persistent, addressable storage medium and may be configuredto execute on one or more processors. These functional elements may insome embodiments include, by way of example, components, such assoftware components, object-oriented software components, classcomponents and task components, processes, functions, attributes,procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware,microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays,and variables. Although the example embodiments have been described withreference to the components, modules and units discussed herein, suchfunctional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separatedinto additional elements. Various combinations of optional features havebeen described herein, and it will be appreciated that describedfeatures may be combined in any suitable combination. In particular, thefeatures of any one example embodiment may be combined with features ofany other embodiment, as appropriate, except where such combinations aremutually exclusive. Throughout this specification, the term “comprising”or “comprises” means including the component(s) specified but not to theexclusion of the presence of others.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filedconcurrently with or previous to this specification in connection withthis application and which are open to public inspection with thisspecification, and the contents of all such papers and documents areincorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including anyaccompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps ofany method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination,except combinations where at least some of such features and/or stepsare mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanyingclaims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative featuresserving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly statedotherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each featuredisclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent orsimilar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoingembodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novelcombination, of the features disclosed in this specification (includingany accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, orany novel combination, of the steps of any method or process sodisclosed.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A method comprising: obtaining an image of agarment, the garment comprising a sensor arranged to obtain activitydata from a wearer of the garment and a marker located on an outsidesurface of the garment, the marker comprises a code string identifyingthe garment encoded into a visual symbol; processing the image togenerate a data string representing the visual symbol; using the datastring to establish the identity of the garment; accessing the activitydata obtained by the sensor of the garment identified by the codestring; and obtaining a user credential from a user, wherein theactivity data is only accessed if the user is authorised, based on theobtained user credential, as having permission to access the activitydata.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein establishing, based on thedata string, the identity of the garment comprises decoding the datastring so as to obtain the code string and further comprises identifyingthe garment based on the code string.
 18. The method of claim 16,further comprising: determining, based on the obtained user credential,whether the user is authorised to access the activity data; andproviding the activity data to the user only if the user is authorised.19. The method of claim 16, wherein the method is performed by a userelectronic device.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein using the datastring to access activity data associated with a sensor of the garmentidentified by the code string comprises: transmitting the data string toa server so that the server is able to establish the identity of thegarment from the data string; and receiving, from the server, theactivity data associated with the sensor of the identified garment. 21.The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting the usercredential to the server so that the server is able to determine if theuser is authorised as having permission to access the activity databased on the obtained user credential, and wherein using the data stringto access the activity data further comprises receiving, from theserver, the activity data if the user is authorised by the server ashaving permission to access the activity data.
 22. The method of claim16, wherein the marker is a fiducial marker.
 23. The method of claim 22,further comprising processing the image to determine the location of thefiducial marker.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprisingdisplaying a representation of the activity data on a display, andwherein the position of the representation of the activity data on thedisplay is determined according to the determined location of thefiducial marker.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the position of therepresentation of the activity data is determined by applying apredetermined displacement to the coordinate location of the fiducialmarker.
 26. The method of claim 24, further comprising simultaneouslydisplaying a representation of the wearer of the garment with therepresentation of the activity data on the display.
 27. The method ofclaim 24, wherein the representation of the activity data at leastpartially overlays the displayed representation of the wearer.
 28. Themethod of claim 24, wherein displaying the representation of the wearerof the garment comprises displaying the obtained image.
 29. The methodof claim 24, wherein displaying the representation of the wearer of thegarment comprises displaying an avatar representation of the wearer. 30.The method of claim 24, wherein the representation of the activity datais in the form of an augmented reality object.
 31. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by acomputer, cause the computer to carry out the method of claim
 16. 32. Amethod performed by a server, the method comprises: receiving, from auser electronic device, a data string representing a visual symbollocated on an outside surface of a garment, wherein the visual symbolcomprises a code string that is encoded into the visual symbol;receiving activity data obtained by a sensor provided on the garment andtransmitted to the server; establishing, by the server, the identity ofthe garment using the received data string; receiving a user credential,from a user, from the user electronic device; authenticating the user,based on the received user credential, for access to the activity data;and providing, to the user electronic device, activity data obtained bythe sensor of the identified garment, when the user is authenticated foraccess to the activity data.
 33. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, causethe computer to carry out the method of claim
 32. 34. A systemcomprising a garment, the garment comprising a sensor arranged tomonitor the activity of a wearer of the garment; a communication unitarranged to receive activity data for the wearer from the sensor andtransmit the activity data to an external device; and at least onemarker located on an outside surface of the garment, the at least onemarker comprising a code string identifying the garment encoded into avisual symbol and arranged such that, when imaged by an image capturingdevice, the at least one marker is useable to access activity dataassociated with the sensor of the garment, the system further comprisingone or more electronic devices operable to: obtain an image of thegarment; process the image to generate a data string representing thevisual symbol; use the data string to establish the identity of thegarment; access the activity data obtained by the sensor of the garmentidentified by the code string; and obtain a user credential from a user,wherein the activity data is only accessed if the user is authorised,based on the obtained user credential, as having permission to accessthe activity data.